From Best Friend to Bride by Jules Bennett

the first time he actually sounded as if he may want to let her in. Megan prayed he would take the olive branch she’d been holding out for so long.
    Commotion from the other end of the line, muffled voices and Evan’s swearing told her the conversation was dead.
    “I’ll, uh, I’ll call you later,” he whispered as if he didn’t want to be heard.
    Gripping her phone, Megan pushed her way into the house. She didn’t know why she’d let herself get her hopes up for those few seconds. She didn’t know why she was constantly beating herself up over a man who might just continue to use her for the rest of their lives. But he was her brother and she would never give up. She may be frustrated and oftentimes deflated, but she wasn’t a quitter and she would make damn sure he wasn’t, either.
    He’d called; that was a major step.
    After hanging her purse on the peg by the back door, Megan slid her keys and phone inside. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she’d skipped lunch again in order to squeeze in one more client. Her supervisor kept telling her she needed to take breaks, but how could Megan justify them when someone’s life could very well be in her hands? What if it was the patient who was contemplating suicide or leaving a spouse and they needed to talk right then? Megan couldn’t turn them away.
    Her eyes landed on the letter she’d tacked to the side of her refrigerator. The letter outlining every detail for the new position she’d been offered in Memphis. The job was almost too good to be true, but it meant leaving Cameron, leaving the chance for something she’d wanted her whole life.
    The directors had certainly pulled out all the stops to get her to take the position. The opportunity to help launch a free clinic in an area of town where people had been forgotten, left to their own devices. Megan wasn’t married, didn’t have kids and had been recommended for this job by her boss. How could she say no?
    Two very valid reasons kept her from jumping at this chance of a lifetime: Evan and Cameron. Both men were fixtures in her life, and both men needed her whether either of them admitted it or not.
    She hadn’t spoken to Cameron in a few days, and emptiness had long since settled into that pit in her stomach, joining the fear and worry there. This was precisely why she hadn’t made a move before, why she’d kept her feelings to herself. If a few kisses had already wedged an awkward wall between them, what would’ve happened had she told him she wanted to try a real relationship with him?
    Megan glanced at the letter again and sighed. Maybe she should go. Maybe she needed to get away from the man who was a constant in her life but would never fill the slot she needed him to. And perhaps her new start would be the perfect opportunity for Evan to make a clean break, as well.
     

Chapter Eight
    “I need you.” Cameron surveyed the chaos around him and cringed. “How soon can you be at my house?”
    Shrill cries pierced his eardrums for at least the fifteenth time in as many minutes. Every single parent in the world officially had his respect and deserved some type of recognized award for their patience.
    “Where are you?” Megan asked. “What’s all that noise?”
    Cameron raked a hand over his hair and realized he needed to get a cut. He’d add that to the many things he’d slacked on lately. Right now, though, he was groveling to his best friend to come save him even though he’d been a jerk and hadn’t spoken to her since.
    His house was a complete war zone thanks to a spunky six-year-old and an infant.
    Willow was dancing her stuffed horse in front of Amber’s reddened, angry, tear-soaked face in an attempt to calm the baby, but Cameron figured that was only making it worse. Not to mention the fact that Willow had a slight goose egg on her head after tripping over the baby and falling into the corner of the coffee table.
    Why had he insisted on watching the kids at his house? A